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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Samsung puts 128-gigabit 3-bit cell flash into production, plans to build more memory cards

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/11/samsung-nand-flash-production/

Samsung puts 128gigabit 3bit cell flash into production, plans to build more memory cards

Flash memory advancements usually sing the same tune: faster, smaller and high-density. Improve one of these attributes, and you've go the makings of a better chip on your hands. Samsung is focusing on the latter, announcing the mass production of its 10 nanometer 128-gigabit three-bit multi-level-cell NAND flash. That mouthful translates into flash chips with more memory per cell in a small form factor. Sammy says the new chip is capable of 400Mbps, and claims the highest density in the industry. The new silicon will be used to expand the company's supply of 128GB memory cards and high-volume solid state drives. It's also well positioned to be a better part for devices with embedded NAND storage, which Samsung hopes will keep it competitive. You'll find Samsung's announcement and all the granular details after the break.

Filed under: Storage, Samsung

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Source: Samsung Tomorrow

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Use Google Cloud Print to Quickly Save Files as PDFs on Your Mobile Devices

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5994280/use-google-cloud-print-to-quickly-save-files-as-pdfs-on-your-mobile-devices

Use Google Cloud Print to Quickly Save Files as PDFs on Your Mobile Devices Chrome: Google Cloud Print is an under-rated, yet awesome service that lets you print wirelessly and remotely to any printer connected to the service. Beyond creating paper printouts, however, Cloud Print is also an awesome tool for sending content to remote devices, saving them as PDFs.

James Kendrick on ZDNet points out this handy, lesser-known feature. Once you enable Cloud Print (under Chrome's settings), all your phones and tablets that have the Chrome browser become "printers." So you can be browsing an article like this and "print" it to your iPad or Android phone, letting Cloud Print convert the page to a PDF file. I just tried this with my Nexus 7, and the web page instantly was sent to the SD card's download folder, under a new "ChromeSnapshots" subfolder. I also got a prompt for which app I wanted to open the PDF with.

If you have Cloud Print apps installed on your mobile devices (such as the Android Cloud Print or Print Central Pro for iOS), you can easily send content between your devices as well: from your Android tablet to the iPhone, for example.

Finally, Cloud Print also can save to Google Drive, converting any content that can be opened in the Chrome browser to PDF and sending it to that online storage space.

How to: Using Google Cloud Print for working with PDFs | ZDNet

Consumers Are Obsessed With Products That Give Them Information

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/info-scarcity-2013-4

babolat Consumers these days have an insatiable demand for information, according to the consultants at trendwatching.com.

With new possibilities unlocked by technology, consumers want to visualize data, map it, track it, alert it, evaluate it, and use it in ways that make life better.

"Info Scarcity" is one of dozens of megatrends listed in the premium database at trendwatching to identify some products that fit into this trend. We see it everywhere, like in the following products.

This clock tracks your sleep patterns in order to wake you up at exactly the right time.

Available from July 2012, the Renew SleepClock from UK-based electronics brand GEAR4 is a dock which facilitates the tracking and management of sleep patterns in conjunction with an iOS device. Via inbuilt sensors, the Renew SleepClock detects users’ deep and light sleep phases, and can then wake them up at the most appropriate time. The device generates personalized recommendations based on individual sleep patterns, while the associated free app enables users to monitor sleep habits over time. The Renew SleepClock retails for USD 129.95.

Trends: Benchmarked Life, Data Divinity

Courtesy of trendwatching.com.

Twine connects everyday objects to the Inte! rnet, li ke sending you a text when your laundry is done.

Available to buy from September 2012, Twine is an wireless electronic device which enables consumers to connect everyday objects with the internet. The device is integrated with a cloud-based service and equipped with a temperature sensor and accelerometer (which detects orientation). Via a simple web app, individuals can program and monitor Twines; for example, users could track their home’s temperature, with Twine sending them a tweet if it’s over 90 degrees, or opt to receive a text message when their laundry is done. Twine was designed by US-based MIT Lab’s project Supermechanical, and is priced at USD 99.

Trends: Alerting, InfoLust, Eco-Metering, On

Courtesy of trendwatching.com.

Stick-N-Find means you never have to lose your keys again.

Stick-N-Find is a Bluetooth-enabled sticker that consumers can place on their possessions so that they can be found via a smartphone app. The disc-shaped sticker is 4.1mm thick and can be affixed to TV remotes, phones, house keys, passports or even pet collars. The corresponding app can be set to Radar, which displays the distance from connected items, or Virtual Leash mode, where the user receives an alarm if their possession is removed from a certain radius. After launching on crowdfunding site Indiegogo in December 2012, the US-based creators received the fundi! ng neede d to go into production. A pack of two Stick-N-Find stickers is priced at USD 35.

Trends: Infolust, Time Saviors

Courtesy of trendwatching.com.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Intel introduces next-gen Xeon E7, E5 and E3 families for enterprise space

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/10/intel-xeon-e7-e5-e3-idf/

Truth be told, not much has been announced on the consumer end at IDF Beijing earlier today, but Intel did tease us with upcoming refreshes of its Xeon E7, E5 and E3 families for the enterprise space. In chronological order we have the Haswell-based E3 with TDP as low as 13W, and it's coming in mid-2013. This is followed by the "Ivy Bridge-EP" E5 in Q3 and then the "Ivy Bridge-EX" E7 series in Q4, the latter of which boasting three times the memory capacity of its predecessor, along with Intel's Run Sure reliability feature. More details in the press release after the break if you're into these flavors of chips.

Also mentioned at the keynote were the now-available Atom S12x9 family for storage systems, as well as a couple of upcoming 22nm 64-bit Atom SoCs codenamed "Avoton" and "Rangeley," both of which are sampling now and are expected to launch in the second half of this year. We've actually already heard of the microserver-friendly Avoton from Facebook's Open Compute Project, whereas Rangeley for network infrastructures was also detailed around the same time; so again, hit up the press release for more details.

Gallery: Intel Xeon E7, E5 and E3; Avoton and Rangeley Atom enterprise SoCs

Filed under: Misc, Intel

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ZTE Geek unveiled with 2GHz Intel Clover Trail+ and a terrible name

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/10/zte-geek-intel-clover-trail-plus/

Oh ZTE you cheeky monkey. Towards the end of day one at IDF in Beijing, we stumbled upon this awkwardly titled Android Jelly Bean phone that is the Geek at ZTE's booth. Needless to say, this is yet another phone powered by an Intel processor -- a 2GHz Clover Trail+ Atom to be exact, which is what Lenovo's K900 also has. The rest of the device isn't too shabby, either: you get a nice 5-inch 720p display with Gorilla Glass, along with an 8-megapixel main camera, a 1-megapixel front-facing camera, 8GB of storage space, 1GB of RAM, 2,300mAh battery and wireless charging. Radio-wise we see UMTS 900/2100 courtesy of Intel's XMM 6260 chip, and there's also the usual lot of 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE and GPS.

Design-wise the Geek takes a huge step away from the Grand X IN and shares a similarly clean look with the Grand S, but without the black eye around the main camera, and this particular unit had a glossy finish in white. Since ZTE admitted that it had to rush this prototype for exhibition at IDF, we'll come back to the build quality once we see a final retail unit. Until then, check out our hands-on video and the press release after the break.

Gallery: ZTE Geek hands-on